[imagesource: YouTube / CNN]

Shark diving expert Jimi Partington has had his fair share of close calls while in the water.

In 2020, he survived a near-fatal encounter with a great white shark and has said he has PTSD due to the incident.

Once bitten, twice shy is the most common reaction to something like that but Partington is wired differently.

In order to try and overcome his fear (and land a feature-length documentary, Great White Open Ocean, on Discovery’s Shark Week programming), the diver headed deep into the Pacific Ocean and hopped inside a clear, polycarbonate box which was open at the top end.

A short clip from the documentary did the rounds last week showing how things didn’t go exactly to plan:

Thankfully, Partington emerged unscathed.

Jeff Kurr, producer and director of Shark Week programming, discussed the footage with Deseret News:

“Really miraculous how he was able to avoid the shark’s jaws,” said Kurr, who was watching from the boat. “I don’t think he saw that shark coming.”

Kurr says the shark was likely trying to “displace” Partington rather than attack him. Large sharks often bump kayakers and paddle boarders, and “most of the times you don’t even hear about it.”

“It was just a great white being a great white,” Kurr said.

In response to criticism that the footage may have placed Partington’s life in unnecessary danger, Kurr said researchers and filmmakers need to get close to the animals to fully understand their behaviour:

“You need to be within a couple of feet, which is inherently risky. But that’s what we do for a living,” he said.

“These sharks are not malevolent creatures. They’re doing their thing in the ocean, and we choose to get close to them.”

On that point, he is most certainly correct.

When we enter the water we know we’re playing on their turf now.

The other Shark Week footage which has grabbed international attention comes from Mossel Bay and shows three orcas taking out a nine-foot (roughly 2,75-metre) great white.

Shark biologist Alison Towner called the footage “probably one of the most beautiful pieces of natural history ever filmed”.

I wonder what she makes of Partington’s encounter.

[source:deseretnews]